Dragging your lazy teenager out of bed just got ten times easier thanks to Dave Turner, mastermind of Twyford’s record breaking seesaw challenge.
Mr Turner- who built the seesaw over two months- had hoped to bring the famous construction along to the town’s annual donkey derby next month. But this unfortunately will not be the case this time due to a shortage of volunteers and insurance intricacies.
Dave will not however be letting locals forget the triumph. And to make sure of this, he’ll be manning a marquee where visitors to the derby can relive the challenge through replays of the event’s coverage on national television.
There will also be a charity collection bucket on site to continue to raise funds for the £1.25 million conversion of the Polehampton Boys school. The project- which hopes to see the abandoned site transformed into a community centre and library- was the motivation behind last month’s record breaker.
Mr Turner said: “We’ve had a huge response to the challenge which has really helped the charitable cause which drove the initial venture. Since last month’s event I’ve been storing the see saw in my garden and have been adapting it in terms of size and kids’ safety in preparation for the derby.”
To compensate for the see saw’s absence at next month’s gathering, its creator will be bringing along a slightly more comedic construction which parents especially will enjoy.
Dave’s Tip the Teenager out of Bed invention has been recently trialled at Twyford Youth Club and is a sponge-the-teacher styled contraption. The objective of the game is for parents to flip their teens out of bed using just a sponge and good aim.
Mr Turner said: “It’s a shame that we can’t bring the see saw along to the derby but the tip the teenager device does actually incorporate part of the record-breaking machinery.”
And having been involved in the derby for 25 years, he added: “The derby is a really popular event so we hope to have lots of people coming to our stall who missed out on the original television coverage last month.”
Twyford Scouts Donkey Derby and Summer Fair will take place on June 2 from 1pm. Entry is free.
